


The Ride

by endlessnightlock (Endlessnightlock)



Series: One Night Stands (aka One-Shot Collection) [9]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Kissing, Mutual Pining, Obviously this isn’t too modern because no one has a cell phone, Summer Romance, Wing woman Madge to the rescue- seriously, if you read on tumblr there is one more part added on the end, it's kind of my thing at this point, minor character drunk, minor character vomiting, references to possible drug use, riding in the back of trucks, the vomiting isn't graphic, underage party, where would Katniss be without her?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endlessnightlock/pseuds/endlessnightlock
Summary: When Katniss rides along with Gale and Madge to haul Vick's drunk ass home from a party, she finally talks to Peeta after some (strong) encouragement from wing-woman Madge.If you read the two drabbles on Tumblr, there's one more part added on the end courtesy of a suggestion and encouragement from my good friend jrosely. :)
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen & Gale Hawthorne, Katniss Everdeen & Madge Undersee, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Series: One Night Stands (aka One-Shot Collection) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001196
Comments: 24
Kudos: 98





	The Ride

"Katniss, I'm so nervous- I don't know how to talk to him. He's so quiet most of the time-"

"So are you!" Katniss interrupted her friend, laughing.

"I know," Madge confessed, hugging her arms to herself, "he just makes me so nervous- he's so good-looking, but he hardly talks." 

Madge leaned against one of the trees they'd decided to wait under until Gale reappeared. He'd gone inside the house about fifteen minutes or so ago to retrieve his younger brother. The two of them decided to stay outside while he went searching- neither of them wanted to take a chance on getting separated and losing their ride home.

Katniss laughed at her friend- Madge did look like a frightened animal with her eyes ready to bug out of her head. "There's nothing to be afraid of- are you crazy? It's just _Gale_."

"Only you would say that," Madge muttered under her breath. 

They both straightened their relaxed stances when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.

Katniss stepped further into the shadows. They couldn't see who was there yet. It was pitch black outside, and they were pretty far away from the house. It probably wasn't anyone she wanted to talk to anyway.

These parties at Cato Haskin's place had never been hers or Madge's scene exactly. There were always too many people there, for one. The few times she'd come here with Gale before he'd sworn them off hadn't been great experiences. Katniss had spent both evenings fending off advances from drunk jocks who'd never given her a second look in the halls at school before or hadn't since. She'd quickly had her fill with that. Katniss didn't want to be someone's dirty secret.

She wasn't sure what exactly all went on at these parties. She knew alcohol was involved- that didn't seem like a b deal if people weren't drinking and driving, but she'd also heard rumors about kids using hard drugs out here too. That wasn't something she could afford to dabble in for all kinds of reasons, the first of all being it was dumb as hell. Katniss had to work hard and save her money from her job. She also spent a lot of time studying so that she could maintain her GPA. Scholarships were the only way she was going to be able to afford college a year from now.

She had too much on the line to screw around. 

"I always freeze up around him," Madge continued, biting her lip.

Madge was much like Katniss, always the odd man out. She didn't have an interest in cultivating friendships with people like the ones inside the house. Katniss liked her even better for the obvious choice she'd made not to fall in with these idiots when it would've been easy to do since her family was well-off.

Katniss rolled her eyes. The way girls became flustered over _Gale,_ of all people, never ceased to amaze her. Yeah, her friend was good-looking, she guessed, but for crying out loud, he was covered in motor oil and grease a good bit of the time. Gale was the least intimidating guy she knew. 

She sighed, willing away the image of the guy who came to the forefront of her mind.

It's not like Gale was the perfect golden boy, who'd left her paralyzed with fear. No, he certainly was much more down-to-earth than the guy she liked and couldn't find the nerve to talk to.

"Hey Katniss," Peeta Mellark greeted her, appearing out of the blue and shocking the hell out of her. He passed the two girls, only slowing down long enough to say hi.

It had startled her- Katniss hadn't been prepared for a Peeta sighting tonight. She remained silent, refusing to say a word as he walked away.

Madge snickered at Katniss's expense after she'd let her gaze follow Peeta for much longer than she should've without answering him. "Aren't you gonna say hi to him?" She needled, raising her eyebrow knowingly.

Katniss glared at her. Why she had ever told Madge about her idiotic crush on Peeta Mellark, she had no idea. Right now, her thoughts were veering towards knocking her friend out and making Gale help her hide the body if she didn't shut up about him.

"Why don't you say hi to him?" Katniss whispered fiercely. "I've never spoken to him a day in my life!"

"Because I'm _not_ the one he said hello to in the first place," Madge reminded her, her blue eyes wide like she was on the verge of laughing.

Katniss bit her lip. She wasn't going to say anything now- that would just make things too awkward. Peeta had almost disappeared, anyway. She couldn't help but wonder what he was doing out here alone.

Madge frowned at her. Quickly, she turned her head in the direction Peeta took. "Katniss says hi back!" she hollered.

"You little-" Katniss seethed. She heard Peeta's somewhat distant laughter in answer, even though she couldn't' see him any longer. She blushed to the roots of her hair in fury and embarrassment. Damn Madge.

Before Katniss had a chance to choke her friend's eyeballs out (in reality, she was more likely just to give her friend the silent treatment), Gale appeared from behind them with Vick, who looked barely conscious. Gale was just keeping Vick upright with one arm around his shoulders as the two of them headed the girl's way, stumbling and swaying beneath his older brother's arm.

"I'm gonna kill him," Gale gritted out as he passed the girls with his brother. Madge and Katniss met each other's eyes before silently falling into step behind him. The unspoken agreement that it didn't seem like the right to press Gale for more details passed between them. They could find out what had happened later.

Gale seemed super pissed off, and Katniss, for one, didn't blame him. If it'd been her sixteen-year-old sibling, one who forced her to drive out here and drag back home from a party after he'd ingested God-only-knows-what, she would've been angry with them too. She thought Vick was smarter than that. He wasn't because his legs looked ready to give out from under him any minute. Katniss wondered if she and Madge were going to have to help carry him back to Gale's truck- they still had a way's to go, and Vick was almost as big as Gale despite being three years younger.

"Need a hand?" Peeta asked, reappearing out of the darkness next to Katniss, brushing against her arm with his shoulder.

She'd had no idea he was anywhere near them at this point. What was he doing, following them?

Gale stopped in his tracks, turning and assessing Peeta for a moment. Meanwhile, Vick slumped further on his feet. "Yeah- I'd rather not throw out my back getting his dumbass back to my truck," he finally admitted, accepting the offer of his help, "you grab his feet, and I'll take his shoulders."

Peeta nodded while Katniss backed away from the boys. 

Despite being a quiet girl, Katniss wasn't necessarily timid- it was just that something about Peeta Mellark that made her nervous. Probably had something to do with the way she thought about him when she was lying alone in her bed at night.

There'd just always been this sort of unspoken thing between the two of them, she and Peeta, where they innately seemed to be aware of the other one's presence. But he'd never talked to her, other than the occasional "hi" or "good morning," and he was so outgoing, talking to nearly everyone he met, so it wasn't like those encounters meant anything.

"Do you think I could get a ride into town with you?" Peeta spoke up, breaking the silence that had settled over the small group as he and Gale carried Vick back to the truck between the two of them. "My brother took off with some girl and left me without a ride."

"Sure," Gale said, glancing over his shoulder to watch where he was going since he was the one walking backward. They were only about ten yards from his truck now. "'If you don't mind riding in the bed- it's a single cab. One of the girls will have to ride with you too- I don't want to leave Vick where I can't keep an eye on him, especially if he has to puke. I'd rather have him do it on the side of the road than in the back of my truck."

"Sure man- I don't mind," Peeta answered quickly, sounding as if toting Vick's lower half wasn't the least bit of exertion, "I'm just ready to get out of here."

"Katniss will ride in the back with you," Madge spoke up. "I've got my contacts in, so I can't. The wind will dry my eyes out too bad."

Peeta glanced over at her, a hint of a smile turning up the corners of his lips. It made her feel like her heart was freezing up in her chest. "Is that alright?" he asked her, his voice lower.

Katniss shrugged, looking away from him.

She was glad it was dark outside because her face felt like it had moved past a blush and was now positively flaming. "Yeah, of course," she agreed as they reached Gale's truck. Feeling the urge to flee both her friend's and Peeta's scrutiny, she took off a little ahead of the others without waiting for any type of response. 

When Katniss reached the bed of Gale's truck, she put one foot on the bumper and grasped the tailgate, stepping up onto it before swinging her leg over the side to climb in.

She gave Peeta a tight smile when he climbed in after everyone else was in the cab with Vick hanging his head out the passenger side window. He settled on the other side of the bed from her, his head resting against the back.

"Hang on!" Gale called out the window as he turned the ignition forward, and the truck roared to life. Katniss closed her eyes and listened to the sound of gravel flying out from under the tires as they took off.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The truck rolled to the end of the long stone driveway. From Katniss's spot in the bed, she watched the taillights flash when Gale stepped on the brakes. Light crept in around the peripherals of her vision as he turned the headlights on- he must've used the parking lights to make his way to the road. Funny how she hadn't noticed the difference until now when it was so dark out tonight.

She glanced at Peeta out of the corner of her eye.

Not wanting to give her nerves any more fuel to run on because they were already going full speed, Katniss got up on her knees. She sat up and turned, peeking around the corner of the cab. Twin beams of light illuminated the cornfields across the road from Cato's house. 

Even outside the truck, she could hear the low tones of Gale's voice and Madge's answer. She couldn't make out what they were saying, though. Vick was understandably quiet, although he still seemed alert. He'd probably be fine, just hungover as hell in the morning.

Instead of pulling out onto the road immediately, Gale waited for the oncoming car to pass them. It was still a little distance away, but she assumed he didn't want to take risks with the two of them in the back and his heavily intoxicated brother in the front. 

She wondered what Peeta was thinking about all of this. She felt embarrassed for herself, and Gale's and Vick's sake for a moment until she remembered what an ass _his_ brother was- Rye had left him at Cato's house without a ride home!

Peeta must've caught her looking his way because he glanced back at her and smiled. The look left her heart racing. Did he have to be so darn cute? 

"Is Gale a good driver?" He finally spoke up with a tinge of humor in his tone. "I mean, I'm putting my life in his hands here, so I at least thought I'd ask," he added.

Katniss laughed, and his smile grew broader. "Yeah, he's careful. Besides, he'll probably drive kind of slow in case Vick needs to stop anyway. Gale won't want to be left cleaning puke off the passenger side door."

Peeta leaned his head against the back of the cab. "And that's if Vick's lucky enough to get his head out the window in time," he added.

"Maybe Madge should've ridden back here with us," Katniss joked, although she was glad her friend hadn't now that she was finally talking to Peeta. She wasn't sure if she'd have felt this uninhibited with him if she'd had an audience, "I don't know if I would have taken a chance on Vick's aim."

"I don't think I would've," Peeta agreed.

She turned around, sitting on her bottom again as Gale pulled out onto the road once an oncoming car had whooshed its way past them. "Anyway, back to Gale," she said, "I trust him if that means anything," she added, turning to face Peeta while the truck picked up speed now that they were out on the road.

"It means something," Peeta told her. He shifted, turning his body to face hers.

It might have been the strangeness of the situation sprung on her out of the blue or something, but Katniss wasn't as nervous being left alone with Peeta as she assumed she would. Maybe the warm summer air and the cover of darkness were what made her feel relaxed; she would say she was comfortable with him even. Who knew?

Katniss listened as her friend upshifted the motor, and then the familiar whine when he released the clutch and the RPMs dropped. Gale had insisted she learn how to drive a manual transmission after she'd gotten her license. He'd been a bit tyrannical about it. She knew more about the inner workings of his truck than she would ever need.

As the truck picked up speed, Peeta turned his ballcap around. "You must've done this before," she commented, then nodded at his head when he looked seemingly puzzled, "lost a hat in the back of a truck, I mean."

Peeta grinned. "Yep, just once, but that was enough. It was my favorite hat, too," he admitted. "But not in a truck- my older brother has a jeep with an open top. He wouldn't even stop so I could go pick it up off the road."

Katniss looked down at her hands, smiling at the mental image that popped into her head. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she kind of had a thing for Peeta's hair. She used to sit behind him in their physics class and imagine what it would feel like to run her fingers through it. 

So she wouldn't mind if he lost another hat. 

"Do you mean Rye?" she asked instead of making any weird comments about his hair since she didn't have a desire to embarrass herself in front of him tonight. She tried to remember what his brother drove as she turned to face Peeta, settling her back against the corner where the bed and the cab met with her knees pointed his direction. 

"No, I mean, my oldest brother Phil. He moved to Michigan after college, so he's not around much anymore," Peeta told her. He shifted his legs, pulling one up to his chest while he stretched the other one out with a wince before schooling his features again. "Rye isn't much of an outdoorsy type."

"Oh yeah, he has a Camaro, doesn't he?" she asked.

Peeta shrugged, "Yeah, and he thinks he's hot shit in it too… err, pardon my language."

Katniss laughed. "No, you're good." She continued watching him, thinking of the season-ending wrestling injury he'd suffered last year; he'd had to have surgery of some sort at the time. "How's your knee?" she asked.

He looked mildly surprised she'd remembered the injury at all. Did Peeta think he'd gone totally underneath the radar with her? Even if she hadn't liked him, he was still a popular guy; it wasn't like she was living in a cave somewhere. "It sometimes hurts still, mostly it just gets stiff if I sit one way for too long."

They were going faster now, and the loose hairs of Katniss's braid began whipping around her face rapidly. She sighed, making a fist at the top of it before unwinding the hair tie from the end of her braid and slipping it around the gathered hair to make a ponytail. She raked out the remainder of her braid.

Peeta glanced away once she caught him watching her closely while she fiddled with her hair. He licked his lips before speaking, and she felt oddly exhilarated. Was he attracted to her? "It's beautiful out here tonight, isn't it?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," Katniss agreed, anxious heat burning up her face at the realization he was affected by her too. "It is."

"I can't get over all the lightning bugs out tonight," Peeta said, shifting in his place and moving closer to her.

"I know," she agreed, inching closer to Peeta herself. 

Her pulse was throbbing frantically, but everything felt right, nerves be damned.

Millions of tiny yellow lights danced through the corn and soybean fields as they sped past, and Peeta leaned across the small space between them, pressing his lips against hers so softly it felt like she could've been dreaming the whole thing. Katniss sighed, closing her eyes.

She had the whimsical thought that maybe those little lights were fairies- even though she'd ridden out to Cato's house with Gale and Madge on a mission to get Vick and drag his drunk ass back home with them, somehow it'd ended up with her, here, kissing Peeta Mellark after years of shy, shared glances between them.

Maybe magic did exist, at least on warm summer nights under a wide-open sky.

* * *

Katniss's hands landed on Peeta's shoulders, firm beneath the thin cotton of his t-shirt, and she fisted the material to keep him in place reflexively as he tried to pull away after kissing her.

His face remained just inches from hers, so close, her eyes were unfocused. She could feel his breath when he exhaled- it smelled sweet like cola. "You weren't drinking at the party?" she murmured the question, surprised. She figured that's what everyone did at Cato's.

He shook his head, his nose brushing against hers due to their closeness. "No. I don't like beer," he told her softly, "I'm always DD for my brother."

"So why do you go?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

"I don't know, it's dumb," Peeta admitted, laughing under his breath, "I don't think I will anymore." He leaned back slightly to peer down at her, his lashes lowering as his eyes darted across her face like he was trying to judge her reaction to the kiss they'd shared. He swallowed heavily, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat. He started to say something else but paused. He was nervous, she realized.

Katniss sat up, her legs wobbling from the motion of the truck as she settled on her knees closer to him. His hands automatically went to her elbows to steady her, holding her in place with his strong arms.

She couldn't contain the shiver that wracked her body at the feel of his fingertips pressing into her skin. "I like you," she told Peeta bluntly, cutting to the chase. She didn't want to talk about it right now. Words might break the spell, so she cut off his chance to get them out by pressing her lips to his to silence him. He grasped her waist, securing her in place so that she wasn't sliding around in the back of the moving truck. Her shoulders pitched towards him, and she moved her arms to wrap them around his neck, pressing her body against his. She tilted her head to get better access to his lips.

Peeta kissed her back, less hesitation in his touch this time. His lips parted, and hers went along with it instinctually. He'd just darted his tongue inside her mouth when they were interrupted by the sound of Gale honking the horn.

Katniss broke the kiss, jerking away from Peeta and dropping her arms. She whipped her head around to glare inside the cab at her supposed friends.

But at that same moment, she noticed the brake lights coming on as the truck began to decelerate.

"Sorry to break up the party back there- but Vick's gotta puke!" Gale hollered out the driver's side window as he steered the truck towards the edge of the road. The truck's hazard lights came on then, flashing red in the darkness. "Just wanted to give you a fair warning instead of slamming on the brakes," he added.

A moment later, the truck was off the road and pulled over on the berm. The passenger side door flew open, and Vick staggered out. He headed for the ditch as Gale jumped out of the driver's side door and followed him. 

Katniss turned her head once she saw Vick bend over with his brother's arm secure around his shoulders to make sure he remained upright.

She closed her eyes and shuddered at the sound of his retching. The noise of his sick splashing on the pavement made her skin crawl. She didn't handle vomiting very well. 

Peeta half-groaned, half-laughed under his breath. "That sound is the worst, isn't it?" he asked, releasing his hold on her waist to sit down.

"It always makes me feel like I'm going to throw up myself," Katniss admitted as she slumped down into the truck bed and leaned the back of her head against the cab. She tried to think of anything but Vick as her stomach churned and her mouth watered. All she needed was to get sick right now over something so stupid. It wasn't like she'd just watched someone get murdered.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asked a second later.

"Huh?" she managed, pausing her slow inhaling and exhaling to tune back into what was going on around her. Thankfully, it sounded like Vick had stopped.

Katniss heard the low murmur of Gale's voice and the sound of the truck door opening again. "I have a water bottle," she heard Madge offer. After that, she couldn't make out any more of their conversation, and she slowly opened her eyes to see Peeta's concerned face peering down at her.

"You got kind of pale there," he told her, his nose scrunching up in concern.

Katniss sighed, sitting up. She was feeling very out of sorts. "I'm okay now," she said emphatically, although it wasn't entirely correct.

She was feeling weird about everything that had gone on. She couldn't believe she'd kissed Peeta like that or told him she liked him. And then she let Peeta see how freaked out she was over someone throwing up in her vicinity. The whole evening had been very far outside of her comfort zone, and it was finally catching up with her.

Katniss turned her head to watch Vick stagger to the passenger side of the truck. Gale got in the driver's side door again. Madge appeared at the tailgate and was soon climbing into the back of the truck with them, a pair of sunglasses she must've borrowed from Gale in hand.

"Contacts or not, I'm not taking a chance on getting puked on," she told them, catching Katniss's eye with what could only be an apologetic look. "Sorry to horn in on you guys."

"It's fine," Katniss said, shrugging her shoulders and avoiding Peeta's gaze. Maybe it was for the best anyway.

* * *

Gale pulled up in front of Peeta's house to drop him off first; he left the truck running as Peeta climbed out over the tailgate. 

Katniss folded her arms across her chest and averted her eyes. She hadn't said another word to or even looked at Peeta once the truck had taken off again. She stewed instead, second-guessing herself and holding onto the uncomfortable, distinct feeling that she'd ruined something before it'd even had a chance to get started.

Peeta glanced her way as he climbed out, his lips parting as if he wanted to say something to her. Instead, he looked away before stepped down to the ground, wincing a little when he landed. His knee, she remembered. 

He stopped at Gale's window and thanked him for the ride before heading down the sidewalk towards his house without another word.

"What are you doing?" Madge hissed at Katniss once Peeta was out of immediate earshot.

She scowled at her friend. What was she doing? She had no idea; all she knew was that she seemed frozen with indecision.

"You are so stupid right now. Katniss, you like him so much- you _kissed_ him..." Madge's voice trailed off, and she frowned, staring over her friend's shoulder like she couldn't even look at her because of her disgust.

The only reaction she got from Katniss was more silence.

"Dammit," Madge grumbled finally, "do I have to do everything myself?"

Katniss leaned forward, eyes wide as she whispered harshly- "Madge, you'd better not-"

"Peeta!" Madge called out decisively, ignoring the threat from her friend, "Katniss needs to talk to you!"

She glared at her friend for a moment before glancing in Peeta's direction again.

He'd paused, letting his head drop to his chest. After a moment's hesitation during which she found it almost impossible to breathe, he stopped, turning around and jogging back towards them.

"Get out and talk to him!" Madge whispered harshly, shoving on her shoulder and breaking her stupor.

Katniss sighed in resignation (and relief if she were honest with herself). She got up, knowing that her friend was right, and climbed out of the truck. She met Peeta on the sidewalk a few yards away from the truck.

"Hey," he began, smiling nervously at her. 

"Hey," she replied, biting her lip. Damn it, Madge and Gale had better not be watching them.

"So-" Peeta began, shifting apprehensively on his feet.

Katniss's chest hurt a little when he avoided her eyes. She knew how wrong it was to leave him guessing what had happened just because she felt weird about it. And darn it, she told herself, sometimes you had to tell fear to shut up and sit back down. She liked Peeta too much to let this opportunity slip away.

So she stepped towards him, taking his hands in hers. Peeta didn't resist; he seemed fine with waiting for her to show him what she wanted- so stood on her toes and kissed him again. The tension went out of his body when their lips met, and she knew she'd done the right thing. His lips parted against hers in an invitation. She shyly met his tongue with hers for just a second before breaking the connection and stepping back.

She liked Peeta, but that didn't mean she was going to stand on the sidewalk and make out with him with all of her friends watching from the truck.

"Do you want to call me?" Katniss asked before he got a chance to say anything else. "We're the only Everdeens on Seam Drive if you look in the phonebook."

"Yeah, I… yeah. Are you busy next weekend?"

She shook her head, _no_.

"Okay, cool. Let's just, yeah. That's cool," Peeta babbled.

She couldn't help but laugh at the way he stumbled over his words. It was so unlike his confident persona she was used to seeing.

"Let's plan on, maybe... Saturday?" Katniss supplied.

Peeta nodded.

"And you're going to call me before then, right?" she added, softly.

He nodded again, stepping closer to her, stopping only when they were almost toe-to-toe.

"Well, I'd better go then," Katniss told him, her stomach fluttering from a feeling she couldn't exactly name. She tipped her thumb back in the direction of the truck as a reminder and began to step away, "they're waiting on me… I'd better go. Goodnight-"

That time Peeta was the one to cut her off her words with his lips.

And it was perfectly fine with her.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and you guys know I love to chat. Leave a comment if you're feeling it!


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